Deviant: No Longer Human

Chapter 299 - 299: Gabrial absconded?

Laboratory, Basement!

The place was dimly lit, save for the focused glow of a single overhead lamp that cast an eerie spotlight on scattered papers and old, leather-bound books strewn across a dusty wooden table.

Wang Xiao's face was pinched in concentration as he picked up a thick volume, its pages yellowed with age.

"What are these...?" he murmured, his brow furrowing deeper.

Amelia, who was busy rifling through a stack of dog-eared journals, looked up, her expression an odd mix of hope and resignation.

"You said you wanted to revive someone from cryo sleep or a similar state, right?" she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching into a tentative smile.

"Uh-hm," Wang Xiao nodded, his gaze darting over the dense text he held.

He was visibly taken aback by something he read, his eyes widening slightly.

"I've tried this before for our—never mind... it just never worked out," Amelia continued, her smile fading into a grimace.

"I don't know if it will this time either," she confessed, her voice tinged with a bitter edge.

Wang Xiao set the paper down, his demeanor shifting from surprise to determination. "Your chances of success would be quite high this time," he asserted confidently, sparking a flicker of curiosity in Amelia's eyes.

??

She turned to face him fully, her gaze intense as she

Tubes and wires snaked from the pod like lifelines, pulsing with the rhythms of artificial life support.

Wang Xiao and Amelia arrived at the scene, their quick steps halted by Rebecca, who was monitoring a panel of blinking indicators.

"Wait! We are still in the middle of the procedure—" she started, her plea cut short by Amelia's assertive interruption.

"No need, I'll take it from here," Amelia declared, stepping forward with such decisiveness that Rebecca, caught off guard, faltered.

"You are...?" Her eyes flicked between the determined Amelia and Wang Xiao.

"Amelia. Also, bring everyone here; I need to know the team before we proceed," Amelia added authoritatively.

"Huh?" Confusion and irritation flashed across Rebecca's features.

It was her laboratory, after all.

Why should she heed the commands of someone else?

"Did you not hear her... Perhaps?" Wang Xiao interjected, his tone mild but his gaze sharp, landing on Rebecca with a silent warning.

"Follow him, Rebecca," came another voice.

Li Zhiming entered the lab, his presence only intensifying Rebecca's discomfort, her face twisting as if she had swallowed something bitter.

She conceded, albeit reluctantly.

Wang Xiao's attention shifted as he noticed a new emblem on the uniform of a stern-faced Li Zhiming, and he frowned.

"Old man, did you get a promotion?" he asked, his suspicion apparent.

Behind him, a woman glared viciously towards him, and recognition dawned on Wang Xiao's face. He knew her.

Amaya's presence caught Wang Xiao by surprise, not merely because of her angry glare but because she was among other Deviants.

This was unusual, as Wang Xiao clearly remembered the rules of the Pantheon Network, which typically allowed only two Deviants at any given time.

"Not a promotion, it's temporary. Gabriel has absconded, so I'll be temporarily heading the entire Zero. In the next few hours, I'll also be moving to the Zero headquarters in the States," Li Zhiming explained, his tone carrying a hint of pride.

It was a temporary appointment, but the possibilities it heralded could lead to permanence.